


Take a break

by StripeVerse



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: FFXV, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Whump, emoto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22324771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StripeVerse/pseuds/StripeVerse
Summary: in which Ignis is sick and doesn't know what the word "relax" means
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	Take a break

**Author's Note:**

> first time posting, woot woot! i used to post on different platforms, but figured its been a while and i should so it again. lemme know what you think lol (and yes, i purposefully left the ending off)   
> ps if you came here from tumblr, howdy, how's it going?

Why must the Gods be so cruel?

Even after working for about two hours on the massive stack of papers, it didn’t seem like a dent had been made. Ignis was starting to understand how Noctis felt about homework. In fact, homework sounded nice right about now. Then he could take it all home and get at least a power nap in.

Ignis was too tired for this right now. He was tired in general, having to do this much work on a Sunday afternoon. He didn’t get much sleep the night before, as for some reason his stomach decided to hurt like absolute hell. He had taken some medication before coming to work today, but it made him want to just push the papers aside and flop onto his desk and sleep. There was no way he would bring himself to do it, despite how much he wanted to lie down and rest. He looked at the stack of work and sighed, closing his eyes for a short moment before setting down his pen. 

The medication was starting to wear off, he noted. There was no way he was about to go get more, the bottle was at his apartment, and he was not willing to ask someone here if they had any. Signs of illness sent you home, and he had to get his work finished, else he would be behind. Ignis pushed his chair back slightly, allowing him room to rest an arm over his abdomen and wince slightly. The one thing the Gods had done for him thus far was allow him to be alone in the study, so he could drop down his composure, if only for the moment. The very second his stomach flipped, his eyes widened in panic. 

Carefully, he stood up and thought up a plan. He just needed to get to the bathroom, that was all. He could take a break for that, surely. Ignis, trying to make sure nobody would notice his flushed expression, slowly opened the door and looked from side to side. There were soldiers in the hallways, but no one who could pull him over for a chat, he supposed. Now was not the time. Quickly, he shut the door behind him and began to ‘casually’ walk down to the restrooms, the feeling of nausea reaching the back of his throat. 

He finally made it, stepping into the one-holer bathroom and locking the door behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus on breathing so that maybe he wouldn’t get sick. It didn’t last long, as he scrambled and dropped to his knees, flipping the seat of the toilet up and shakily still trying to hold whatever it was down. It seemed failure and him were going to become good friends today.

Ignis leaned over the toilet, giving in and letting the vile slip out of his body for a good bit. His throat, which he didn’t noticed was that sore until he opened his mouth, burned along with it, and his body weakly shook as he spewed his insides into the bowl. Once he was finished, he relaxed only slightly, putting the lid down again and flushing the toilet. He rested his head on the covered lid, closing his eyes and taking his glasses off to set them on the counter. The cold of the seat felt nice. Really nice, actually. He sighed, reluctantly pulling back and moving to stand up, leaning heavily on the counter for support. Looking into the mirror, he looked like complete shit. He definitely looked tired, his face flushed with what he didn’t want to admit was a fever, and he looked like he would fall over any second. His throat stung with pain, and his stomach was screaming at him for what he didn’t know. Something a certain shield would call the definition of miserable. 

But Ignis couldn’t be miserable. He had way too much work to do, he could not take a break with a workload like that. Instead of doing the right thing and asking to be pardoned, he splashed his face with water, dried himself off, and made his way back to the door. However, he turned on his heel and found himself back on the floor in front of the toilet, panting softly already. 

Curse the Gods.

<>

Once he was back in the study, it didn’t take long for Ignis to lose focus. He had had his arm wrapped around his torso again since he sat down, hands shaking. His body felt cold, despite the fact he was sweating lightly. He didn’t even realize that he had dropped his pencil and rested his head on his arm, laying on the desk and slowly falling asleep.

It wasn’t until he heard a knock on the door that he sat up, scrambling to make himself look busy.

“Come in!” He replied, really wishing he hadn’t spoken and made his throat burn once again.

The door opened, and of course Noctis had to walk in. The crown prince himself. Ignis, didn’t turn to look behind him, trying his damndest to focus on the words on his page.

“Oh, hey Ignis. How work going?” 

The royal pain, he was.

“It’s going alright, I suppose. I’ve at least made a dent. May I help you, Noct?” Ignis tried to keep his voice from breaking, most likely failing. His eyes stayed glued to the page in front of him, his expression disgruntled.

“Just in here to do homework without anyone bothering me.” Noctis shrugged, setting his backpack on the floor by the desk he was now sitting at. The one right next to Ignis’, of course. 

Ignis just nodded, not wanting to say anything more. He felt that if he opened his mouth, it wouldn’t be words coming up, so he kept it shut. Noct cocked an eyebrow at his odd behavior before pulling out his textbook and whatever sheets of paper he needed. He had gotten himself all set up, taking another glance at Ignis to find him shaking, struggling to stay awake. 

“You alright, Specs?” Noct asked, cautiously placing a hand on his shoulder. Ignis just nodded, sighing through his nose and picking up the pen again to -sloppily- write something down. Noctis didn’t buy it, standing back up and going beside his friend, kneeling down. Ignis followed his movements, anxiously knowing what was coming, yet he wasn’t about to stop the prince. 

Noct lifted his hand, pressing it to Ignis’ forehead, watching as he held back a sign and pressed softly into his touch. His face was burning up, completely flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat. He could tell just by his eyes he was unbelievably more tired than usual. Noct grimaced, moving his hand down to his neck, feeling around. Ignis, on the other hand, was lost in the cool sensation of the other’s hand. Thank the Gods for that. He had closed his eyes, leaning into it and almost smiling. 

Once Noctis retracted his hand, Ignis went back to feeling miserable, begging the Astrals for him to do it again. 

“You’re burning up.” Noct sighed, smirking. “You wanna go find a break room and lay down? Get some medicine or something?” 

Ignis shook his head. “I-I have to work.” HIs voice was barely above a whisper, breaking softly. Noct looked at him as softly as he could manage, for the time being. 

“Don’t worry about that, Iggy. I can get that taken care of.” He winked. Ignis sighed, leaning over to put his head on his desk again. Noct replaced the hand on his shoulder, patting gently. “Come on, let’s get you to a real bed.”

Ignis, reluctantly, let Noct help him to his feet, leaning against him incase he passed out. Noct had one arm under his, holding him upright. Slowly, he lead Ignis down the hall to his usual room he stayed in when he had to sleep in the castle. He gently got him to sit on the bed so he could take off his glasses and shoes before laying down on his side, curled in on himself. Noctis pulled a blanket up to his neck, letting him relax.

“Here, I’ll go get some things to take care of that fever, ok? I’m sure one of the nurses has something.” Ignis nodded as Noct left the room in search of whatever he needed. It didn’t take long, however, for the nausea to pang back into his throat at the new position. Ignis winced and grabbed at his stomach again, hoping to just wait it out. He, once again, failed, quickly flipping the covers up and ducking into the private bathroom. He made it to the toilet and swiftly lost the battle with his body, retching into the bowl painfully before slipping down onto the bathroom floor, losing himself to sleep as well.

<>

The prince trekked down the corridor of the castle headed for the small medical wing on the opposite side of where Ignis was. Who thought that was a good idea?

Another thing that was a ‘good idea’ was Ignis’ plan of working himself to death. Noctis only had to think about how miserable he was for him to just melt at the sight. It was almost cute, seeing the composed advisor so tired and such a mess. He knew Ignis would do this someday, and that he really just needed proper rest sometimes. This, he guessed, was just one of those times. 

But he couldn’t figure that fever out for the life of him. It probably would have been a good idea to ask Ignis what hurt or something before just leaving him all alone, but Noctis was already halfway across the castle. He could only assume that he was just overworked, and that was the cause, but out of caution he made a note to grab a bunch of different flu and stomach medicines, just in case it was something more. 

Finally, he had reached the medical wing, and just casually slipped inside. 

“Oh, hello, your highness!” one of the nurses greeted him. “Can I help you with anything?”

Noct shrugged, which was normal - he never played the role of prince. He was just a guy. “Ignis worked himself down, and he’s running a fever, so I came to grab something to help with that.”

“Certainly! Let me get some things for you.” the nurse turned swiftly and began searching around through cabinets and drawers, digging a few things out. Stuff like medication, thermometers, rags, all that junk. Once she was down, she compiled it into a basket, handing it to Noctis. 

“Do you think you can take care of it yourself?” she asked, cautiously.

“Yeah, I got it. Thank you.” He replied. 

“Of course, your highness. Take care.”

Noct nodded casually and headed back out and down the hallways again. He thankfully saw she had included not only fever reducers, but many other bottles. She had read his mind, much to his relief. 

It took a while, but Noctis eventually got back to Ignis’ room, walking in and setting the basket on the dresser. 

“Alright we got all these things which should he- Ignis?” He had turned, thermometer in hand, only to find the bed empty. He cocked an eyebrow, looking around the room.

“Iggy? You here?” He asked, still finding no response. He stepped around the corner, peering into the bathroom, and sighing loudly. 

Ignis was lying on the cold tile floor, drenched in sweat and fast asleep in front of the toilet. He had left the seat up, leaving Noct to wince at the contents before lowering it down and flushing it. The other jolted awake at the noise, sitting up and frantically glancing around before focusing his eyes on his very concerned friend. 

“Hey, hey, it’s just me, Iggy. Calm down.” Noct held his hands up, Ignis sighing and shaking rapidly now. Noct put his hand back to his forehead like before, noticing his fever had definitely gotten worse. He retracted his hand, much to Ignis’ dismay, and scooted around behind him.

“Here, lean back on me for a bit, ok?”

“You’ll… get sick, too…” Ignis mumbled, falling back anyways and landing in Noct’s lap.

“Don’t worry about me,” Noct said, brushing Ignis’ messy hair to the side. “I’m more worried about you right now. Do you feel like you’re gonna get sick again?”

Ignis was still for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Alright.” Noct slowly got him to sit up, rubbing the other’s back as he tiredly threw up into the toilet for the ump-teenth time today. The sound made Noctis wince, but he just continued to carefully run his hand up and down until it was over, murmuring soft words of encouragement.

Once it was over, the prince, again, helped Ignis to stand, however shakily he was doing so. He guided him back to the bed, setting him down and having him lie on his back for the time being. After the blanket was draped over his body, he got up and grabbed the basket from the dresser. 

“Do you think you can stay awake long enough to let me take care of you?” Noctis asked, gently moving the other’s hair to the side again. Ignis just shrugged, nodding and closing his eyes. “You gotta sit up for me again, ok?” 

As Ignis moved to push himself up, Noct made a small mental connection. He had never actually seen Ignis this… vulnerable. Never once had he seen him with his hair down and messy, curled up underneath a blanket and shaking from fever. It was, for lack of a better term, pitiful to see. His caretaker was now needing to be taken care of, and damn would Noct try and take care of him. Even if it meant crawling in bed with him and holding him close.

Thank the Gods it was a weekend.

Noct dug around in the basket, pulling the thermometer out again after he had loosely dropped it. He turned it on and handed it to Ignis, who obediently stuck it under his tongue, before reaching back into the basket and rummaging around for medication. 

The thermometer beeped, and Noctis gently took it from the other, furrowing his brows at the number read. ‘103.5.’ He set the meter down on the side table before running a hand through Ignis hair. “No wonder why you feel so bad, your fever must’ve spiked.”

Ignis was really starting to like Noct messing with his hair. He found himself getting almost sad when he pulled away to grab something else. Maybe it was just the delirium he found himself in, or maybe it was the cold feeling that eased the fever’s heat. He fuzzily watched Noctis take two bottles of liquid medication out of the basket he had, opening them and pouring equal parts into one of the two cups that were in the basket. He took the other empty glass and stood up, walking into the bathroom to fill it with water. Then, he returned, setting both cups down on the side table. 

“Alright, you have to take these and then I’ll let you sleep, ok?” Noct asked. The thought of having to consume anything made Ignis shudder. Somehow, he managed to bring himself to hold the medicine cup with two hands before cautiously getting most to all of it down. The taste caused him to gag, scaring both of them for a short moment before the feeling went away. Noct handed him the water cup.

Ignis took it with two hands, like before, but this time much shakier, not being able to hold the cup still to drink it. Noctis smiled gently, holding on to the back of the cup gently to help keep it still as the other took a few gentle sips of the crisp liquid. The only thing it seemed to help was his throat, which hurt slightly less at the cold.

Noctis took the cup back, setting it onto the table again. “Alright, you can sleep now.” Noct smiled again, watching as Ignis all but flopped down, shutting his eyes and trying to sleep as told. He knew he should go back to working on homework, but he didn’t want to leave Ignis unattended for too long, just in case something were to happen. Instead, he pulled over a cushioned chair, positioning it by the bed, and sat down to pull out his phone and play a round or two of Kings Knight, listening to the soft breathing of the other sleeping peacefully. 

<>

The last thing he could recall was going to the bathroom to get sick again, so how on Eos had he ended up here?

Ignis stood tall above the city of Altissia, gazing upon the city. The world around him was pitch black dark, with not a star in the sky to provide him light. He could only see the little dots of the street lights below him. Looking down from the tall church bell in the center of the water town, that is. Really, how had he managed to get up here?

He sat back, running a hand through his hair. Out of curiosity, he raised his hand and quickly slapped himself in the face. He jolted, his cheek now stinging. Definitely not a dream, he concluded.

Once that was for certain, he leaned forwards again, seeing now that he could make out the town below him. Not a single person was there, the gondolas with no drivers and the bars with no managers. It was like a wasteland on the ocean. The only sort of movement came from that of the other three, down below on the street corner. Noctis was looking up at Ignis, reaching his hand out to do what he wasn’t sure. Gladiolus and Prompto stood on either side, their gazes unshifting from the prince. Ignis proceeded to wave at Noct as to respond to his hand movement. 

Suddenly, it was as if he couldn’t move his body. As much as he tried, his hand was stuck outwards and his head positioned to never leave Noctis’ gaze, leaving him to watch as the other two raised their hands out and summoned their weapons. 

It seemed Noct couldn’t move either, never turning to look behind him as he yelled out for Ignis, nearly screaming. 

He was definitely screaming once the others fired and swung, knocking Noctis to the ground, splattering bright, psychedelic blood out of his body in nearly every direction. 

Ignis tried desperately to move, to jump off the building and get to Noctis. Every inch of his body strained, pulling desperately at the invisible walls holding him in place to watch as the prince, the one he cared about most, collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony for Ignis to help him.

Almost as if on cue, the city collapsed into nothingness, leaving Ignis and Noctis alone, floating on thin air in the blackened sky. Noct lay motionless on the floor, the practically neon blood still in a pool around him. Ignis ran as fast as his legs would take him, straight to his side, no caring about the stains. He grabbed hold, shaking Noctis, muttering prayers that he wasn’t dead. Thankfully, Noctis turned his head, blood leaking from his mouth, and spoke.

“Ignis?” he choked out.

“Noctis, breathe for me, ok? I’m going to get you out of this just hold on-”

“Ignis….” he closed his eyes, falling to the floor, cold. 

“Noct… Noct! Wake up!” Tears threatened to fall as Ignis hysterically tried to force his companion awake again, to no avail. Noctis’ voice calling his name rung in his head, getting louder and louder as he-

“Ignis!”

His whole body tensed and bolted upright, shaking like crazy as he hyperventilated. He quickly looked around the room he was in, noticing it was his room in the citadel. A hand on his shoulder caused him to flinch and turn to see who it was, only to be greeted by Noctis, who was very much alive and well, and sitting beside himself on the bed.

“N-Noct?” Ignis sputtered, throat flaring.

“I’m right here. It was all a dream, Iggy, don’t worry.” Noctis moved his hand to rub soothing circles on his back. “It sounded pretty bad, too. You were tossing and turning and calling my name the whole time.”

“Y-you’re alive…” Ignis remarked, failing to hold back tears from falling. 

Noctis nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I-I’m sorry, I just…” The other wasted no time, grabbing hold of the prince and pulling him close and tight. He fearfully crammed his face into his chest, grasping and the back of his shirt and weakly sob. All Noctis could do was wrap his arms around the other, placing a hand on his head and softly pet him.  
“It’s alright, Iggy. No one’s gonna hurt you, I promise.” He murmured, letting Ignis cry on his chest, slowly beginning to rock back and forth.  
“I lost you…” Ignis choked out between breathes. “It was all my fault!”

“Hey, hey, nothing happened. It wasn’t real, it was just a fever dream is all. You’re alright, I’m alright.” Noct shushed him. “Just relax, Ignis. You’re safe with me.”


End file.
